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“But it’s been a successful season, people are trying to do things off the pitch to raise money and I’ve really enjoyed it - it’s gone unbelievably fast.”
“Having said that, Carshalton is a tough place to go and we’ve got a point away from home.”
If the league was based solely off home records, Carshalton would remain in 17th place.
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Dartford manager Ady Pennock counting on maximum points and results elsewhere going their way in last three Isthmian Premier games of the season to stand chance of reaching play-offs
Matthew Panting
Published: 05:57, 08 April 2026
Dartford manager Ady Pennock insists his team need to win their last three matches to stand any chance of making the Isthmian Premier play-offs.
The Darts closed the gap on the sides above them to two points after drawing 2-2 with Carshalton and beating Chatham 3-2 over the Easter weekend.
Dartford manager Ady Pennock says even maximum points from the games that remain may not be enough for a play-off place.
“It’s got to be three wins,” stated Pennock. “The other teams are ahead of us, they’re in the driving seat.
“But we can only do what we can do. The form has been excellent for a couple of months so we’ll have to wait and see.
“We can only concentrate on ourselves. If we go lose-lose-lose, then it’s all over anyway so we need to get three wins and see where it takes us.
“We need a little bit of luck as well with other results going our way so it’s not in our hands.”
Pennock insisted that there’s still pressure on his players, even though they’re the ones doing the chasing.
He added: “Football's a funny old game and anything can happen, there’s a lot of football to be played yet.
“I just know that my team will give it everything and I can’t ask for anything more.
“There’ll still be pressure on us - there’s no free hits - but I don’t put any pressure on the boys, I just tell them to go and enjoy themselves.
“It’s a great industry to be involved in and they’re getting paid for it as well so it’s not too bad.”
Dartford make the trip to already-relegated Canvey Island this Saturday.
From the outside, it looks like the ideal fixture for Pennock’s men, but he knows they’ve dropped points against teams at the wrong end of the table too many times this season.
“The games that we’ve been the most successful in are against teams in and around us and the local derbies,” reflected Pennock.
“We’re still giving everything but the ones that we’ve slipped up have been against teams in the lower half. I just know there’s a lovely feel about the dressing room, and there has been for a few months now.
“There’s been a belief in there, we don’t over-celebrate, the boys just get on with their jobs and go from there.
“I don’t care who we’re playing in the next three games, it wouldn’t really worry me, to be honest.
“I know for a fact these three games will be very tough for us, whatever happens there are no easy games in any league.”
Dartford completed the double over Chatham at Princes Park on Monday as two Dan Smith goals and a stunning Olly Box effort sealed victory.
“We played really well,” said Pennock. “We came out nice and sharp, it was a very good first-half performance.
“We knew they were going to come at us in the second half. The referee gave them a bit of a leg up as there was a foul on us for their first goal.
“But once it went 3-2, I liked the way we managed the game. We could have easily buckled so I was very pleased with that.
“Dan took his two goals well and Olly’s one was a smashing goal as they’re a good side and you have to be on it or they’ll punish you.
“What we’ve done is we’ve built another team. We built a team last season, we can’t compete off the pitch with other teams, we just can’t, and that’s just the way it is.
“So, we’ve built a team that wants to play for the shirt and that’s what we do in every game we’ve played. The supporters can’t complain because the boys give 100 per cent and that’s all you can ask for.
“Yes, there will be times when everyone gets frustrated but we’re a young side and there will be mistakes.
“But we’ve put ourselves in the mix. We’re still the one chasing, which I’d rather be the other way around, I’d rather be where the Brentwoods and Chathams are.
“But it’s been a successful season, people are trying to do things off the pitch to raise money and I’ve really enjoyed it - it’s gone unbelievably fast.”
On those frustrations, Pennock pointed to the draw at Carshalton.
But it was the first goal that his team conceded that left him frustrated, rather than the stoppage-time equaliser that saw the Darts drop two points.
“It wasn’t the last-minute equaliser,” stated Pennock. “It was the first goal I was so annoyed with because that was proper schoolboy stuff.
“The second goal was on 93 or 94 minutes and that can happen in games so I haven’t got a problem with that.
“It was the first goal that annoyed me more than anything else because we should have won the game 2-1.
“Having said that, Carshalton is a tough place to go and we’ve got a point away from home.”